Observation port for fluid tight enclosed compartments



Aug. 17, 1954 R. F. BURKE 2,686,611

OBSERVATION PORT FOR mum TIGHT ENCLOSED COMPARTMENTS Filed May 22, 19523 Sheets-Sheet 1 Z2 INVENTER.

Aug. 17, 1954 R. F. BURKE 2,686,61 1

OBSERVATION PORT FOR FLUID TIGHT ENCLOSED COMPARTMENTS Filed May 2 2.1952 3 Sheets-Sheet 2 INVENTOR.

R. F. BURKE 2,686,611

OBSERVATION PORT FOR FLUID TIGHT ENCLOSED COMPARTHENTS I Aug. 17, 1954'3 Sheets-Sheet 3 Filed May 22, 1952 V/l/l? I I 7//// 1 MW 0 I IPatented Aug. 17,1954

OBSERVATION PORT FOR FLUID TIGHT ENCLOSED COMPARTMENTS Robert F. Burke,Phoenixville, Pa, assignor to Boiler Engineering & Supply 00., Inc.,Phoenixville, Pa., in corporation of Pennsylvania Application May 22,1952, Serial N0. 289,387

6 Claims.

My invention relates to a new and useful ob servation port forfluidtightenclosed compartments and has for one of its objects toproduce a device that can be readily applied to a compartmentedstructure such as, for example only, a boiler whereby the fiames fromcoal, oil or and certain of the products of combustion can be visuallyexamined to ascertain the conditions thereof without the observer beingaffected by the heat, flames, gases or other fluids therein.

Another object of the invention is to produce a device of the kindmentioned having one or more windows and a normally closed clean-outaperture all selectively adjustable relative to a port communicating;with an enclosed compartment in a substantially fiuidtight structurewhereby the actions taking place in the compartment can be observed byan attendant without be ing injured by fire, heat, gases or otherdeleterious matter.

Another and highly essential object of this invention is to so constructthe apparatus herein described that the inner face of each window may becleaned without the necessity of dismounting or disassembling any partof the apparatus.

Another object of the present invention is to produce an observationport apparatus for connection to a compartmented structure, saidapparatus having a number of windows selectively positionable in respectto an opening communicating with the compartment.

Another object of the invention is to include a normally closedclean-out aperture in addition to the windows which is selectivelypositionable in respect to the opening communicating with the abovementioned compartment.

A further object of this invention is to produce an observation portapparatus comprised of an inner stationary plate connected to acompartmented structure having an opening communicating with thecompartment, said stationary plate having two widely separated holes inthe same circle, one of which is in alignment with the opening to thecompartment and the other hole being unobstructed at the back thereof,and a second movable plate having a surfaceseat on and rotatablerelative to said stationary plate and provided with windows and aclean-out aperture all selectively registrable with either of the holesin the stationary plate whereby the compartment can be shieldably viewedthrough the windows or the opening leading to the compartment cleanedthrough the clean-out aperture or said opening closed by an imperforateportion of the movable plate and whereby the backs of the windows can becleaned when in registration with unobstructed hole in the stationaryplate.

A still further object of the invention is to produce a relativelyinexpensive but strong and durable apparatus including adjustable springmeans for firmly holding the movable plate against the stationary platethat carries an axle on which the adjustable spring means is mounted, asimple and efiicient means for holding the glass or" each windowsecurely in place, and a suitable closure for normally but temporarilyclosing the clean-out aperture when not in use.

With the above and other objects in view this invention consists of thedetails of construction and combination of elements hereinafter shownand described and then designated by the claims In order that thoseskilled in the art to whicl this invention appertains may understand howto males and use the same I will describe its construction in detailreferring by numerals to the accompanying drawings forming a parthereof, in which:

l is a side edge view of the observation port apparatus constructed inaccordance with the invention and showing it attached to a wall of acompartmented structure, such as the rear head of a boiler.

Fig. 2 is a sectional elevation on the line 2-2 of Fig. 6.

Fig. 3 is a fragmentary sectional view of the plates in the region ofthe clean-out aperture illustrating how the latter may be closed by ascrew plug.

Fig. i is a section, on a reduced scale, taken on line 6-4 of Fig. 1.

Fig. 5 is a similar view taken on the line 5-5 of Fig. 1.

Fig. 6 is a front face view of Fig. l with a portion of the movableplate broken out to show how the operating handle can be assembled.

Fig. '7 also is a front View of the observation port apparatusillustrating a number of modifications.

Fig. 8 is a section on the line ti e of Fig. 7.

Fig. 9 is a fragmentary sectional view on the line 9-9 of Fig. '7 withthe Window moved to the observation hole in the stationary plate.

In carrying out my invention as herein embodied ill and ii representcoacting or companion stationary and movable metal. plates,respectively, preferably in the form of discs.

The stationary plate I0 has an axle l2 projecting from the front facethereof and the outer end is threaded at I3. While not limited to anyparticular way of mounting the axle it has been 3 shown as comprising asmoothly finished rod with its rear end projected through a hole in thestationary plate so as to protrude slightly beyond the back of saidstationary plate and secured in place by welding M- or other equivalentmeans.

In said stationary plate it is an observation hole l5 and a cleaninghole iii angularly spaced apart a considerable distance in the arc ofthe same circle concentric with the axle. In actual practice the centerof the cleaning hole i5 is approximately one hundred sixty-one degreesfrom the center of the observation hole i5 clockwise when looking at thefront of the apparatus. This arrangement can be varied to a considerableextent depending largely upon the sizes of the windows and clean-outaperture to be described below. Surrounding the observation hole i5 isan internally threaded nipple ll projecting from the back of thestationary plate i6 and. said nipple is a unitary part of saidstationary plate although it may originally be a separate element andsecured to the plate in any appropriate manner as by welding it.

The movable plate i i is rotatably mounted on the axle i2 and its innerface seated against the front face of the'stationary plate to provide afluidtig t joint and therefore the ooacting faces of said plates may besmooth and highly finished or ground to one another. In order tomaintain a tight joint a coil spring iii surrounds the axle ill with oneend of said spring engaging the outer face of the movable plate and theother end held in place by a nut'til with a washer 2i interposed betweenthe spring and nut if desired.

The movable plate H has one or more window operings therethrough,preferably two, and are numbered 22 and 23, and a clean-out aperture 25. As illustrated in Figs. 1 to 6, inclusive, each win dow opening issurrounded by a ring having a larger inside diameter than the diameterof said opening and secured to the outer or front face of the movableplate, as by welding 26, to

form a cavity 22? to receive a window glass 28 and one or more gaskets29, one gasket against eachface or only against one face of the glass.The glass in one window is clear or transparent while the other iscolored to provide a quality of translucency which will function as ascreen for an observers eyes when viewing flames or other bright lightin the compartmented structure.

Each window glass and the associated gaskets are removably held in acavity 2'? by a generally circular clamp member 38 temporarily fastenedin position by screws 3i projected through said clamp member and screwed.into the movable plate ii.

As illustrated in Figs. 7, 8 and 9 the cavity or cavities Elia areformed directly in the outer or front face of the movable plate ii ascounterbores of the window openings 22, 23 and in each cavity is mounteda window glass 2311 and a gasket Eta. It is to be understood that twogaskets can be employed as shown in Fig. 2 or only one gasket used inthe first described cavity structure, as shown in Figs. 8 and 9. Eachwindow glass 28a is removably held in place by a clamp member 38atemporarily fastened in position by screws tia which are screwed intothe movable plate just beyond the perimeter of the clamp member with thescrew heads overlapping the clamp member.

In that form of the apparatus illustrated in Figs. 1 to 6 the clean-outaperture 2 3 has threaded wall and is normally closed by a screw plug 32having a rectilineal head 33 to receive a wrench or other suitable toolfor tightly screwing the plug in place or backing it out, whereas inFig. 7 the closure for the clean-out aperture is depicted as a swingingcover at pivoted on a screw 35 having threaded connection with themovable plate i I and said cover is provided with a slotted keeper 38 tobe projected under the wing nut 3i screwed onto the post 38 havingthreaded connection with said movable plate.

The various openings in the movable plate are all in the arc of the samecircle having the axle [2 as its axis and corresponding to the are ofthe circle in which the openings of the stationary plate are locatedwhereby any opening in said movable plate may selectively be broughtinto alignment or registration with either of the openings in thestationary plate. The openings in said movable plate are so located orpositioned relative to one another that an imperforate or solidobservation port covering area 39, Figs. 5, 6 and '7, is provided whicharea is of smrlcient size to completely span the observation hole i5 andclose the same when the apparatus is not otherwise employed.

A handle it is provided for rotating the movable plate H and preferablyprojects radially from the perimeter of said movable plate. A convenientway to construct said handle is to provide a rod il having one threadedend and force fit or sweat the plain end into a hole opening on thecircumference of the plate 3 i, mount a piece of pipe or tube 32 on saidrod and screw a nut it onto the threaded end of the rod to act as abarrier to prevent accidental displacement of the piece of pipe whichcan be held tight or allowed to revolve on the rod.

In practice the apparatus is assembled on a compartmented structure,such as a boiler, by screwing the socket ii on the exteriorly threadednipple 44, Fig. 2, forming the observation port and projecting from therear boiler head The length of the socket ill or the nipple at or thecombination of both is sufficient to space the stationary plate ii) thenecessary distance from the boiler head to permit a person to reacharound back of said stationary plate and into the cleaning hole Itwhereby the rear surface of a window glass aligned with said cleaninghole may be cleansed.

Whenever it is desirable to observe the actions and effects of anyoccurrences within a closed compartment, such as the furnace compartmentof a boiler, one of the observation windows is moved into alignment withthe observation hole l5 by rotating the movable plate. W hen the frameor bright light radiating from any source within the compartment is nottoo intense the clear glass window can be used but if the light is suchthat it might affect the eyes of the observer the movable plate can berotated until the colored glass window aligns with the observation porthole It.

Often fly ash or other foreign matter accumulates in the observationport comprised of the nipple tit and is necessary to remove such foreignmatter to obtain a good View of the performances within the compartment.To carr out the cleaning of the observation port the clean-out aperture2'3 is moved into alignment with the observation hole l5 and the plug 32removed or the swinging cover 34% swung to one side, as thecase may be,to provide a direct communication with said observation port from theoutside of the boiler through this apparatus. Thereafter any suitablecleaning instrumentality can be employed to displace the accumulationsof foreign substahcesin the observation port.

When neither window nor the clean-out aperture is actually in use themovable plate H can be rotated until the imperforate area 39 thereof isdisposed across the observation hole 15 whereupon the observation portwill be closed and shut off from the outside.

Of course, I do not Wish to be limited to the exact details ofconstruction herein shown and described as these may be varied withinthe scope of the appended claims Without departing from the spirit of myinvention.

Having described my invention what I claim as new and useful is:

1. An observation port apparatus comprising a stationary plate, an axleprojecting from the front face of said plate which plate has anobservation hole and a cleaning hole angularly spaced a considerabledistance in the arc of a circle concentric with the axle, a threadedsocket on said stationary plate surrounding the observation hole andprojecting from the rear of said plate for connection to a nippleconstituting an observation port, a movable plate rotatably mounted onthe axle and having a fluidtight facing seat against the front of thestationary plate, said movable plate provided with a number of windowopenings surrounded by window glass receiving cavities and a clean-outaperture, said window openings and aperture being angularly spaced apartin the arc of the same circle as the holes in the stationary platewhereby the window openings and the clean-out aperture may beselectively moved into alignment with either the observation hole or thecleaning hole, a window glass in each cavity, means to removably holdthe window glass in place, and closure means to normally close theclean-out aperture.

2. The structure according to claim 1, in combination with a coil springsurrounding the axle and engaging the front face of the movable plate,and means connected with said axle to regulate the tension of saidspring.

3. The structure according to claim 1, in combination with a handleprojecting radially from the perimeter of the movable plate.

4. The structure according to claim 1 wherein the clean-out apertureclosure is a screw plug threaded into said aperture.

5. The structure according to claim 1 wherein the window glass holdingcavities are formed directly in the front face of the movable plate.

6. The structure according to claim 1 wherein the window glass holdingcavities are formed by rings having larger inside diameters than thediameters of the window openings and secured to the front face of themovable plate in concentric relation to said window openings.

References Cited in the file of this patent UNITED STATES PATENTS NumberName Date 1,071,906 Gilmore et a1. Sept. 2, 1913 1,162,878 Quant Dec. 7,1915 1,473,162 Sage Nov. 6, 1923 2,005,014 Tondreau June 18, 19352,205,179 Schultz June 18, 1940 2,442,750 Coote June 8, 1948 2,510,360Zuher June 6, 1950 2,543,107 Haartvedt Feb. 27, 1951

